Global
Procurement
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Training procurement professionals for the global economy

International Procurement Resources on the Internet

Free International Procurement Resources

If you want to find out what country is sending a particular product to the US, the International Trade Commission has a great search engine, the Trade DataWeb. You'll need to know the Customs (HS) code or the SIC code for the product you are researching.

The USITC also  makes the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) available on the web in two formats.

APEC has the tariff schedules of the Pacific Rim countries, including the US, Mexico, and Canada, complete with search engines.  

The University of Saarbrucken has the text of the CISG. (This is the United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods, a key legal document controlling international purchases. But you knew that, didn't you? If not, please consider a seminar).


Once you know the country you want to look in, one way to find out supplier names is to contact the embassy or consulate of that country. Here's a handy list of phone numbers of every embassy and consulate in the US.

Lacking definition? Here's a helpful Dictionary of International Trade Terms from the US Department of Commerce.

There are several attempts to catalog suppliers by product within a country. These are usually limited to advertisers. Before relying on one, you should check them in a category that you know well and see if your known suppliers are listed. For one of the best, try ASM's "Asian Sources On-line" .

Sacré bleu, what was a French franc worth on August 18, 1998? OandA.com has a currency converter with both current and past exchange rates for most currencies.

What time is it there? Are they on summer or winter time?   Use Time and Date's World Clock  before that early-morning or late night phone call.

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Free General Purchasing Resources on the Internet

For current events, check the Purchasing site at  About.com

For general purchasing issues, try the resource lists at the following sites:

For those interested in electronics, Electronic Buyer's News has a good on-line site: EBNOnline.

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International Business Resources on the Internet

The Federation of International Trade Associations (FITA) has a great list of
 trade resources.

Links to other useful commercial sites

For seminars on international purchasing or other purchasing topics: Law, basic purchasing, or electronics and blueprint reading for buyers, contact Global Procurement Group's marketing partner: Nahabit and Associates.

For consulting and seminars on procurement cards, check out CPR Consulting Group.

For an extremely professional purchasing newsletter, check out Supplier Selection and Management Report.

Need legal advice? Looking for entertaining and well written articles on international trade law issues? Try www.exportimportlaw.com. Their quizzes are both fun and humbling.

Need some source inspection? (A good practice for the first few shipments.) Check out AMREP inspection services. They will also do thorough analysis of potential suppliers' quality systems and practices. AMREP has offices around the world.

Worldtariff has tariff schedules for all the major countries, including information enabling you to determine eligibility for duty-exemption plans. This one isn't free, but they will allow free sampling.

Looking at eSourcing packages? If you use them internationally, be sure that the system allows you to treat different suppliers differently. Your foreign suppliers should get different contract terms,  different terms of purchase and possibly be asked to bill in different currencies than your domestic suppliers. EC Sourcing group understands this. Check them out. 

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